The chief of a volunteer fire department in Clark County is suing a former staff member, who's also a citizen journalist, for defamation, following a social media post last month.
Utica Fire & Rescue Chief Joe Jarles and Deputy Chief Eric Brown filed the lawsuit last week against Shawn Bostock and his company, Journalism With Integrity LLC. The court filing states Bostock falsely claimed on Facebook that the plaintiffs were "engaged in criminal, unlawful and unethical behavior in their profession and were the subject of criminal investigations."
The lawsuit says Bostock "knowingly and intentionally published false, derogatory statements about Plaintiffs on their Facebook page that contained defamatory imputation."
A March 26 post on the Facebook page Integrity and Accountability with Shawn Bostock included multiple allegations related to Utica Fire & Rescue, which was created last year after the Jeffersonville City Council stopped development of a fire territory that would have covered the area.
Bostock, who served as an assistant chief and resigned in January, alleged that the department had not been following the proper procedure for purchasing equipment, and that it was buying premium equipment from a captain in the department without a conflict of interest statement on file.
He also claimed some department members had expensive take-home cars totaling around $250,000, which he said was close to the department's annual budget, among several other allegations.
The post said Bostock had filed a report with Indiana State Police "based on my suspicions that were based on occurrences that I personally witnessed."
"I can lay my head to bed at night and know that I did what I could to try to stop it, that I at least made the attempts to draw attention to the fact that, 'Hey, you're all not doing this right,'" Bostock said in the post, later adding, "I know I am going to be painted as a villain in some circles. And that's fine. I'm not the one that potentially broke the law."
Jarles, the fire chief, told LPM News he couldn't speak to the pending litigation but said Bostock's statements in the post were false.
"There's not any truth to anything that he said," Jarles said. "And we'll document that in court. We'll see it all the way through."
An ISP representative told LPM News on Wednesday that the agency was not actively investigating Utica Fire & Rescue. Phone calls and an email to the Indiana State Board of Accounts were not immediately returned.
When reached by phone, Bostock said he was aware of the lawsuit and had been speaking with attorneys.
"I'm confident that most of it will be dismissed prior to going any further," Bostock said. "I feel very confident that I'll win this."
Bostock also denounced a statement in the lawsuit alleging that he wants to be chief of the department.
His Facebook page has drawn around 12,000 followers since he started it in early 2024, months into the criminal investigation of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel.
Bostock has frequently posted on the page, which is "dedicated to ridding Southern Indiana of political corruption," about Noel and others involved in that investigation. He's also attended public governmental meetings to express concern about various issues impacting residents and has used his platform to speak with political candidates.
Noel is serving prison time after pleading guilty to more than two dozen felonies. He previously operated companies that contracted with governmental entities for emergency services. Jarles previously said Noel's actions left the Utica area without resources for adequate protection.
According to the lawsuit, as of the time of filing the post had reactions from more than 100 people, with more than 100 comments.
The lawsuit requests a money judgment, award of damages and attorney fees, and a jury trial.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
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